Jewfro – Meet Joshua …

03.07.2017

Newsroom

Greetings from Corporate America! Things are going great so far and I haven’t even gotten my Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Minivan with its 33-mile all-electric driving range, 566 miles of total range and 84 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) in electric-only mode.

Beyond a fine fleet of varied vehicles that my son Judah and I were extra-excited to see at the Detroit auto show, I’ve already gotten to catch up with colleagues volunteering at Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, Junior Achievement, the Michigan Science Center, the Eastside Community Network, United Way of Southeast Michigan and the American Red Cross.

I am proud to call myself one of their fellow Motor Citizens.

And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss you and your mishegoss. A few half-baked, would-be column ideas:

I survived Disney World without punching or being punched by any of the characters. It’s been 30 years since my last visit, but I still spin the teacups too fast and get nauseous.

As anticipated, I’ve been wearing more shirts with buttons, though the only new addition to my wardrobe was an all-purpose navy blazer from the Shirt Box. A theory from the busy corridors of business casual: colorful, patterned and novelty socks are the new necktie.

Referring to the totality of the tumult of Detroit in the summer of 1967 as a riot — especially with 50 years of hindsight — is tantamount to saying the Garden of Eden is a story about apple picking. With Detroit Jews for Justice and the Detroit Historical Society, I look forward to looking back through a critical and compassionate lens on events whose truth and reconciliation now can impact equity over the next 50 years.

Ben & Joshua

Which brings me to Joshua Lewis Berg. Joshua is the best. Total package: generous, incisive, beard. I’ve only known Joshua for a short while, but I feel like we go way, way back. That’s probably because he is a proud product of our community — recently returned, family in tow, to Jewish Detroit. If Joshua self identifies as a wandering Jew, he’s a warm, welcome example that not all who wander are lost.

I know some of Joshua’s stories, but if there’s one thing this work has taught me, it’s the wisdom to let people tell their own stories.

So I’m honored to submit my 75th column on the cusp of the Detroit Jewish News’ 75th year, to pass my pen to Joshua and to continue to contribute however I can to our unfolding story.